The Punjab and Haryana High Court has issued a notice of motion to the Chandigarh Police on a petition moved by a Dera Bassi resident alleging that he was brutally tortured by police officials during his custody.

The petitioner, Kanwanljit Singh, has sought criminal and disciplinary proceedings against DSP (Central) Satish Kumar and SHO of Sector 17 police station, Uday Pal, in violation of constitutional safeguards and the law that torture in custody is prohibited in India and further to ensure that widespread directions given in 1996 in “DK Basu” case by the Supreme Court are followed in letter and spirit in Chandigarh also.

The case came up before Justice M M S Bedi, who issued the notice of motion for December 1.

The petitioner is an electronics engineer by profession and secretary of CPI (ML). It was submitted that on June 29, the petitioner was leading a peaceful protest of residents of Kachi Colony, Dhanas, in Chandigarh in front of the DC office in Sector 17 against an illegal order of the UT Administration for the colony’s demolition.

It was added that about 1 pm, the petitioner was called by the DSP and the inspector inside DC office on the pretext of arranging a meeting of the DC with protesters. But the DC refused to meet and later, the police attacked the protesters, including women and children, the petition said.

The petitioner claimed that he and his friends were taken by the DSP and the SHO to the Sector 19 police station at night and were thrashed with a belt and sticks.

Later, the petitioner moved an application before the Chandigarh CJM who in turn ordered on July 7 that the victims be medically examined at the Government Medical College and Hospital in Sector 32. It was informed that the reports of the examination of the petitioner revealed several injuries.